Twist setting means for ruff cord making machines



Ix Imm lIn l H" Sept., 24, 1935. v v H. P. RUF

TWIST SETTING MEANS FOR RUFF CORD MAKING MACHINES Filed Jan. 18, 1955 ZMSE@ ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. .124, T935 UNITED STATE PATENT GFFI@ irai TWIST SETTING MEANS FOR RUFF CORD MAKING MACHINES 2 Claims.

degrees of twist.

One object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described, having improved means for setting the same so that cords having different degrees of twist can be produced at different times, and a desired twist exactly and accurately duplicated without requiring minute measurement or adjustment for setting the machine, and without regard to wear, lubrication or slippage of parts of the operating mechanism.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of the type mentioned having few and simple parts, and which is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, compact, accurate, rapid, convenient, durable, and reliable in use, and adapted to make different ruff cords.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent 'as the specification proceeds.

With the aforesaid objects in View, the invention consists in the novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described in theirV drawing, wherein like parts are designated by the structions.

same reference characters throughout the several Views.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a fragmentary view in central verti- `cal section of a cord making unit, and with parts in elevation, embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, with parts removed.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View The advantages of the invention as here outlined are best realized when all of its features and instrumentalities are combined in one and the same structure, but, useful devices may be produced embodying less than the whole.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, that the same may be incorporated in several different con- The accompanying drawing, therefore, is submitted merely as showing the preferred exempliiication of the invention.

Generally described, a cordl making machine employs a ier, and the degree of twist produced depends not alone upon the flier but also upon the "speed at which the cord is pulled through the iiier.

If the cord is pulled through faster, the twist is less, and vice versa. Hence the twist depends upon the relative speed of the flier and roller or other device that may be used to pull the cord through the flier. One arrangement is to use an element, such as a quill, for the cord, coaxial with 5 the flier to cause rotation of the roller. Hence the latter may be regarded as associated with the flier and the quill so as to depend upon the relative speeds thereof. Consequently the speed of the iiier element or of the quill element or both may be suitably set or adjusted, and one of the elements may have a constant speed if desired, and the elements may be driven independently or one element may be used to drive the other as by the use of an intermediate drive mechanism which is settable. The use of such intermediate mechanism is highly advantageous from the standpoint of simplicity, compactness, ease of repair, and a single main drive may be used to operate a great many flier units, and the units may be set to produce cords of different twists at the same time. Heretofore, the intermediate mechanism was arranged to utilize adjustable friction clutch means,

of the generally conoidal type, according to my Patent No. Y1,736,221, issued November 19, 1929, upon which the present application is an improvement. I have found that after such clutch has been set to dilerent positions to make cords of different twists, if it is desired to reset the clutch to reproduce a given cord, it is extremely difficult to do that. Markings on the clutch are uncertain and cannot be used with sufcient accuracy or reliability. Slippage will occur which will vary with wear, weather conditions and the like,

so that it was necessary to produce a piece of cord and examine it. This offered no solution, because it is difficult to determine the twist except by general appearance, which is unreliable. Nor can the rate at which the cord is fed from the iiier be used as a criterion, since the speed of the ier itself may vary, as because of slippage of the drive belt, and variations in speed and load on the motor. Hence I have devised the present construction wherein I provide the intermediate drive with a gear train including interchangeable gears of different diameters, together with means for the rapid interchange of gears, so as to obtain a positive setting of the machine to permit the accurate reproduction of a cord of a desired twist. The interchangeable gears may each be suitably marked according Vto the twist produced. This improved arrangement has the advantage of accuracy and simplicity, being positive in setting without requiring a complicated and expensive transmission, so that each of a Cil large number of iiiers on a machine may be thus equipped, and in use the possibility of an error is thus avoided. The perception of the defects above noted together with the advantageous solution provided furnish an essential feature of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, I denotes a device embodying the invention. The same may include a machine having a main frame II from which extend a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal frame bars I2 and I3, whose length may be substantially equal to that of the entire machine, and upon which frame bars may be mounted a gang of cord making units such as I4. These cord making units may be driven from a main or central drive, not shownfwhich main drive may be connected to each cord making unit by a suitable belt engaging a pulley 'I5 of each cord making unit. In this manner different cord making units may be operated at dilerent speeds or under conditions as will hereinafter more particularly appear.

Each cord making unit may include a quill I6 and a nier I1 coaxial therewith. V'Ihe flier I'I may be of U-shaped form and may be fixed to a sleeve I 8 which is journaled in the frame bar I3 as by means of a bearing'IS. The sleeve I8 may have the pulley lI xed thereto for rotating the iiier. Journaled inthe sleeve I 8 is the quill iS'journaled at its upper end in a bearing positioned in the upper frame bar I2. Aligned withthe quill I6 and extending thereabove is a tube 2I rigidly fixed in a frame element 22 secured to a suitable part of the frame of the machine such as the frame bar I2.Y The frame element 22 may have a portion 23 provided with a series of holes 24 for guiding strands of silk or the like to be twisted around a cord of cotton orother feasible material 25. The latter is fed through the tube 2l and the strands of silk are laid thereon with the aid of a conical guide 25 aiiixed to the tube 2 I.

The strands of silk `2`I are vtwisted about the cord 25 within the quill I6 and the completed cord 28v passes around one or more rollers 29 journaled upon the'top or cross bar 30 of the ier frame. The rollers 29 are diametrically disposed onropposite sides of the center of the iiier, and each may have a series of grooves or steps around which the' completed cord 28 is wound in the manner shown so as to assure a reliable and uniform pull on the cord, and the cord is thence supplied to `a. spool 3| by means of idler rollers such as 32. 'Ihe spool may be rotated in any suitable manner tocause 4the cord to be evenly wound thereon.

In order to permit the degree of twist in the finished cord'28 to be varied, the rollers may be rotated at different speeds relative to the flier. For this purpose a pinion 33 is affixed to the end of the quill in coaxial relation therewith and in engagement with gears 34 secured to and coaxial with the rollers 29. Hence the quill I6 may be regarded as a drive shaft for operating the rollers 29.

To cause the quill I6 to be rotated by means of the hier drive and at different speeds relative to the nier, an intermediate drive unit may be provided'such as 35. The latter may include a gear 36 fixed on the sleeve shaft I8 below the pulley I 5 and coaxial therewith.l Likewise `the quill` I6 may have a gear 3'I- aiixed thereto and coaxial with the gear 36, and of *the same or any other diameter relative thereto. Interengaging the gears 36 and 3`I a gear train comprising the gears 38, 39,"40and 4I. This gear train may be mounted upon a U-shaped frame member 42 secured to the frame bar I3 and resting thereon. In the lower arm 43 of the frame member 42 is a bearing 44 in which is journaled a shaft 45 on which the gear 39 is afiixed. The upper arm 46 of the frame member 42 may have a laterally angularly offset arm portion 4'I in which is journaled the gear 38 in any suitable manner. If desired, the gears 38 and 39 may be disposed within the frame member 42 and the gears 48 and 4I may be disposed above the arm 46. The shaft 45 may extend through a hub 49 of the arm 46, and may have the gear 40 removably affixed thereto soas to be coaxial with the gear 39, and to rotate at an equal speed therewith. The gear 4I may be mounted on the arm 46 to engage the removable interchangeable gear 40 that is replaceable by gears of different diameters which need not be shown, and the mounting being settable so that the center of such interchangeable gear 4I may be varied in the radial and angular relation to the centers of the gears 3l and 40 which are interengaged therewith. The settable means referred to may be denoted by numeral 59, and will now be described.

For settably mounting the gear 4I, the means 59 may include a member 5I which, for compactness, may be in the nature of a bar having a hub portion 52 sleeved on the hub 49, and the hub 52 being radially split at 53 and being arranged to provide a pair of lugs or ears 54, 55 which can be drawn together in any suitable manner to clamp the hub 52 around the hub 49 in stationary relation thereto. For example, a screw element 55 may extend freely through the ear 54 with which it may have shoulder bearing engagement and may have a threaded portion 5T for screw connection with the ear 55. The arm 5I may also have a longitudinally extending guideway or slot 58 for movably mounting a bearing means which may include, for example, a screw 59 extending through the slot and secured in said position along the arm as by means of a plurality of lock nuts 60 above the arm and a nut BI below the arm. To prevent the gear 4I from being aifected by tensionj on the screw 59, a bearing element E2 may be sleeved on the upper end of the stud 59, said sleeve having an upper marginal lip S3 so as to retain the gear 4 Iv which is freely journaled on the sleeve 62. To secure the sleeve 62 to the stud 59, a set screw 64 may extend through the sleeve 62 and may have a head bearing on the upper end thereof, and said screw being threaded into a hole65 in the upper end ofthe stud 59. In this manner any tension exerted bythe set screw 64 is taken up entirely by the sleeve 62 which bears axially against an adjacent lock nut 66, and hence the screw 64 may be tightened as much as may be desired without affecting the free rotation of the gear 4I.

Thus the settable means permits angular adjustment about the hub 49 and radial adjustment along the guideway 58, and thus a gear of larger or smaller diameter vthan the gear 40 may be substituted therefor with the gear 4I set in such position as to properly interengage the gears 3'I and 4D. It will be understood that the gears 31, 40 and 4I have teeth of the proper depth and circular pitch so'as to permit interchangeable gears of different sizes to be employed as herein stated.

The manner of operating the machine will now be briefly described. Rotation of the pulley I5 causes rotation of the outer tubular shaft I8 and hence ofthe flier I'I, wherebythe gears 34 and the rollers I29 are causedto revolve around they 75V center of the flier. Hence the strands of silk 21 are wound around the core or cord 25 within the inner tubular shaft I6 to provide the completed cord 28 which is pulled through the machine by means of the rollers 29 and fed to the spool 3| by the idlers 32. Rotation of the outer tubular shaft I8 causes rotation of the gear 36 and hence of the gear train 38, 39, 40, 4| and 31, to cause rotation of the quill IS at a suitably different speed than that of the flier. Rotation of the quill causes rotation of the gear 33 and hence of the gears 34, and therefore of the rollers 29 with respect to the flier. Dependent upon whether the speeds of the rollers 29 is greater or less, the rate at which the cord 2B is pulled through varies correspondingly, and hence the degree to which the silk is twisted around the cord. If now a cord 28 having a diierent degree of twist is desired, the gear 49 is interchanged with a gear that may be suitably marked or stamped, and which is of correspondingly different diameter. To complete the change in gearing the nut 6| is loosened to permit the bearing element 59 to be moved along the slot 58. Likewise the screw 56 is loosened so as to permit the arm to be swung. If the diiierent gear 49 is very large, the gear 4| is replaced by a diierent or smaller gear on the bearing element 59, the bearing sleeve 62 slipped into the gear, and the screw 64 tightened. Then the gear 4| is manipulated to cause it to properly interengage with the gears 31 and 40, whereupon the nut 6| is tightened, and likewise the screw 56. 'Ihus the machine h-as been reset to produce a cord 28 having a different degree of twist since the quill IG will now rotate at a diierent speed than formerly and cause the cor-d to be pulled through the iiier at a correspondingly different rate whereby the twisting of the silk on the core may be of greater or lesser density. If now it be desired to reset the ier again to produce the cord originally obtained, the interchanged gear or gears are removed, and the proper previous gears replaced in the same manner.

The speed at which rotary motion is transmitted on the intermediate drive 35 is not aiected by backlash or wear on the teeth of the gears so that wholly accurate and reliable results are obtained in setting and resetting the machine for different conditions. The diiculties inherent in the use of a clutch as previously employed with diiculties in duplicating the exact settings desired, and with corresponding loss of time in endeavoring to accomplish such result, are avoided. The simple and compact arrangement herein described permits a gang of fliers embodied in a single machine having a single m-ain drive to be simultaneously operated to produce cords having different degrees of twist, and each ilier being settable without disturbing any other flier. The setting is wholly positive in every respect and any thrust or torque which may tend to affect the setting of the elements 59 and 52 are counter- 5 acted by reason of the fact that the gear 4| is intermediate of the gears 31 and 4U. Furthermore, since the gears 40 and 4| are laterally offset, the gear 4| is readily accessible for removal and replacement in course of interchange in setting of the intermediate drive 35.

It will thus be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be made in the device as shown in the drawing, and that the same is submitte-d in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being defined in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A cord making machine, including a cord making unit comprising a quill for a cord, a nier coaxial with the quill, the latter and the ier being rotatable at different speeds, a cord pulling roller associated with the quill and the flier for turning at a speed according to a di'erence in the speeds of rotation of the quill and the flier, and setting means for setting the relative speeds of the quill and the flier, including gears connected respectively to the quill and the flier, and a gear train interconnecting said gears, said gear train being laterally positioned relative to said 3o gears and being adapted to have one of the gears thereof removed and interchanged with gears of diierent diameters, and means for operatively mounting the interchangeable gears of .different diameters with their centers at correspondingly 2.3 different points.

2. A cord making machine including a ier, a rotary quill therefor, means including a gear train interconnecting the iiier and the quill for rotation of the latter at a speed different than that of 40 the ilier, one gear element of the gear train being interchangeable with gears of diierent diameters to change the speed of the quill, and settable means for mounting a gear for changing the center of the gear angularly and radially with respect to the gears of the gear train that engage the same, the settable means including a bearing sleeve for said gear, a screw element projecting into said sleeve, a guide means along which the screw element is movable and to which the latter can be immovably fixed, the bearing sleeve having a lip engageable over said gear for retaining the same, the bearing sleeve being removable from the screw element, and means releasably engageable with the screw element for holding the bearing sleeve on the latter.

HERMAN P. RUF. 

